The Colorado 2025 hunting brochures are out. Colorado issues two sets of regulations – one for big game (antelope, bear, deer, elk, and moose) and a separate one for sheep and goat. You can request a hard copy by calling 303-297-1192, or they are available online at http://cpw.state.co.us/thingstodo/Pages/BigGame.aspx. The application deadline is 8 p.m. (MDT) on April 1, 2025. Sheep and goat licenses must be paid for by April 28th. Deer, elk, antelope, and moose licenses must be paid for by June 13th. Failure to collect payment will result in forfeiture of any accumulated preference points used to draw said permit as well as loss of license.
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| Colorado Species Specific Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Colorado Elk | Colorado Mule Deer | Colorado Mountain Goat |
| Colorado Bighorn Sheep | Colorado Moose | Colorado Pronghorn Antelope |
| Available Colorado Hunts (HF Adventures) | Colorado Bear | Colorado Mt Lion |
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) has online applications only for all species. You will need to create an online account to apply in the 2025 draw or call CPW at 800-244-5613.
Visa, MasterCard, or Discover will be accepted. Corrections or modifications to applications are accepted in Colorado and can be made until the April 1st application deadline.
Group applications are accepted for all species, except for moose or Desert bighorn sheep. The number of applicants allowed within a group application is unlimited, except for Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep and mountain goat, which allow a maximum number of two. Non-residents and residents may not apply together for Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep or mountain goat. If non-residents and residents apply together and draw, the permits will count against the non-resident allocation. Group applicants go into the draw with the lowest number of points of any individual in the group. For example, three applicants in a group with 1, 6, and 7 points will go into the draw with a group preference point total of 1. Group members must apply for the same species, hunt code, order, season, and method of take.
You can choose to build points only, but you still have to pay the non-refundable hunting license, application, habitat stamp, and point fee (if required). The preference point only code for Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep is S-P-999-99-P, for mountain goat is G-P-999-99-P, for moose is M-P-999-99-P, for deer is D-P-999-99-P, for elk is E-P-999-99-P, and for antelope is A-P-999-99-P. The preference point fee is $100 for sheep, moose, and mountain goat, but it is free for youth.
Deer, elk, antelope, and bear non-resident hunters are limited to up to 25% of the total permit numbers per hunt code unless the hunt has taken residents 6 or more points to draw on average for a previous three-year period. For those units, non-residents will be limited to 20% of those permits. The old non-resident quota for non-high-demand hunts was 35%. Non-residents are limited to 10% of the total number of sheep, mountain goat, and moose permits.
LEARN ABOUT CHANGES TO COLORDAO DRAW SYSTEM HERE
Colorado draws everyone’s first choice before anyone’s second, third, or fourth hunt choice is awarded. If you draw your second, third, or fourth choice, you will still be given a preference point. You may apply for points only as your first choice and still list a second, third, and fourth choice.
We often get asked about the Colorado hybrid draw. Simply explained, hunt codes requiring 6 or more resident preference points to draw will have 20% of available licenses for deer, elk, and antelope issued through a random drawing. The number of preference points required to draw shall be determined by the average number of points a Colorado resident needed to draw during the previous three-year period with one exception. A minimum of 5 individual preference points is required for an applicant to participate in the hybrid random drawing. Group applications are not eligible to participate in the random drawing. The hybrid random drawing occurs after the regular initial drawing. So, in almost every case, non-residents will have already had an opportunity in the initial drawing and no non-resident permits are available in the hybrid draw.
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Colorado has a secondary draw. Most of the hunts in the secondary draw are tags for hunts that did not have enough applicants in the primary draw to exhaust them. Starting in 2021, CPW also added hunt codes that were turned back or not paid for before the secondary draw deadline. CPW has also excluded all tags from that list that took 5 points or more to draw in the primary draw. The secondary draw application deadline is June 30th at 8 p.m. (MT). The payment deadline will be July 21st (MT). There are no preference points available in the secondary draw for elk, deer, antelope, and bear licenses. Applicants will need to purchase a qualifying hunting license to enter the secondary draw. Preference points are not considered in the secondary draw, and applicants will neither gain nor lose points.
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If you draw a permit and harvest a Rocky Mountain bighorn ram of at least ½ curl or mountain goat, you must wait 5 years before being able to apply for a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep with a special hunt code or mountain goat again. This license is exempt from this waiting period. If you harvest a Desert bighorn sheep, you must wait 5 years to apply for another desert sheep drawing. If you harvest an antlered moose, you can never again apply for an antlered or either-sex moose license in Colorado. If you do not harvest the animal, there is no waiting period before applying.
Colorado requires applicants to first purchase a qualifying hunting license (small game license) in order to enter the draw. Applicants will no longer be charged a preference point fee for elk, deer, antelope, and bear. Sheep, moose, and mountain goat applicants will have the option of purchasing a $100 point if unsuccessful or opting out and just participating in the draw and if unsuccessful will simply remain at the same point level. Remember that all male or either-sex hunts for sheep, moose, and mountain goat require at least 3 preference points to be considered in the draw. That means you must already have or continue to acquire preference points until you have accumulated 3 preference points just to have an opportunity to draw a permit. After you have accumulated your 3 preference points, every point acquired after that will be a weighted point, which will increase your odds of drawing.
Anyone born on or after January 1, 1949 must have completed an approved hunter education course before applying. You must carry your hunter education card or proof while hunting. You can validate your hunter education card at most license vendors. Once your hunter education card has been validated, you will not need to carry it with you while in the field.
As of 2017, hunters age 50 or older or military personnel defined as active duty, reserve duty, veteran, and National Guard who have not completed hunter education can take a one-time online test that will allow them to test out. The cost is $24.50, and you must pass with at least 90%.
Colorado has a free apprentice license that serves as a one-year waiver of the hunter education requirement with the aim of getting new hunters into the field. It can only be obtained twice and allows for the purchase of hunting permits. The apprentice license holder must be at least 12 years old to hunt big game and must be accompanied by a mentor at all times in the field. The mentor must meet the hunter education requirements and be at least 18 years old.
Colorado law requires hunters to wear at least 500 square inches of solid fluorescent orange or solid fluorescent pink above the waist as well as a fluorescent orange hat or head covering while hunting antelope, bear, deer, elk, or moose with any firearms license. Hunter orange is not required when hunting goat or sheep.
All off-highway vehicles operated in Colorado on public lands must have a valid Colorado OHV registration, which is $25.25.
Youth may apply for a preference point if they turn 12 years old by December 31st of the application year. Youth may apply for a permit at age 11 as long as they turn 12 years old before the end of the hunting season applied for. At the age of 12, you can hunt big game in Colorado.
Colorado has a true preference point system for elk, deer, antelope, and bear. For those species, permits are allocated to the applicants with the most preference points within the non-resident quota. There is no maximum number of preference points for these species.
There is a slightly modified point system for moose, Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, and mountain goat, and it is optional. For those species, you are awarded a preference point for the first three years you apply. The maximum preference points you can build is 3. You must apply and build 3 preference points before you are actually entered into the draw. After you have 3 points, you are entered into the drawing and permits are randomly allocated. A weighted point will be awarded for each year you apply and are unsuccessful in the drawing after that if you opt in and pay the point fee. Weighted points increase your probability of being drawn. It is calculated by converting your application number into a different, random application number, then dividing that new application number by the amount of weighted points you have plus one. This generates another new application number. Applications are sorted by this new number from lowest to highest, and low numbers for each hunt code are awarded licenses. There isn’t a point system for Desert bighorn sheep.
If you draw your first choice or fail to apply for any big game species for 10 years, your points will be purged for that species.
The odds we list for sheep, moose, and goat are based upon the number of non-resident applicants with 3 preference points. The odds are simple odds and are calculated without consideration of weighted points. If you want to see your exact draw odds based off the number of weighted points you have, you can use the research tool at research.huntinfool.com. Select the hunt you wish to apply for, enter the number of weighted points you have, and this will give your exact draw odds from the previous year. The elk, deer, and antelope odds are listed as the minimum number of preference points an applicant drew with in the 2024 draw.
Any eligible hunter age 12-17 will receive preference in the secondary draw for elk, deer, antelope, and bear licenses. Preference point fees are waived for all species for youth applicants. Youth hunters, 12-17 years of age, may receive up to 15% of the limited doe antelope, antlerless and either-sex deer, or antlerless elk licenses established for each unit during the regular rifle and private land-only rifle seasons. In addition, Colorado is offering late season antlerless elk and doe antelope opportunities. Group applications will not be accepted. Licenses not drawn by youth will be available to the public. The permit prices for youth are considerably less expensive.
In-line muzzleloaders are legal. Muzzleloader hunters cannot use pelletized powder, smokeless powder, or sabots. Open or “iron” sights are mandatory with no scopes of any kind. Fiber optic sights or fluorescent paint incorporated into or on open or iron sights are legal. Electronic or battery-powered devices cannot be incorporated onto or attached to the muzzleloading firearm. A minimum of .40 caliber is required to hunt deer and antelope, and a minimum of .50 caliber is required to hunt elk and moose. Archery equipment may not be used during muzzleloader seasons.
Only hand-held bows may be used during the archery season; this excludes crossbows from being used during the archery seasons. Scopes or magnifying sights cannot be used on bows in the archery-only season. Bows must be drawn or held by hand without the aid of any mechanical device. The bow’s draw weight must be a minimum of 35 pounds, and broadheads must have at least two steel cutting edges.
Firearms and bows carried on an OHV must be fully enclosed in a hard or soft case, and rifles must be unloaded in the chamber and magazine when on an OHV. A muzzleloader is considered unloaded when it does not have a primer or percussion cap on.
Colorado has raffle and auction Governor type permits. For more information, go to http://cpw.state.co.us/thingstodo/Pages/RaffleAuction.aspx. You can also refer to our January 2025 issue in the “Governor, Commissioner, and Conservation Tags” article.
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Colorado has a landowner voucher program. Up to 10% of private land-only and 10% of unit-wide permits for deer, elk, and antelope licenses for the general and restricted quota west of I-25 may be issued as landowner vouchers. Up to 15% of the deer, elk, and antelope licenses for the general quota east of I-25 and up to 10% of the restricted quota may be issued as landowner vouchers. Landowners must meet certain qualifications both in size of contiguous acres and type of property to be eligible. Vouchers are allocated through a draw process that takes place every year. The number of applications per landowner depends on acreage owned. Landowners who receive vouchers for licenses that they can transfer/sell to eligible hunters must do so directly. A hunter voucher can be sold directly to a hunter by the landowner or their designated land manager. A third party cannot sell a Colorado landowner voucher. Once a hunter purchases a voucher, it must be taken to a license agent or CPW location to be turned into a license. Hunters who are unsuccessful in drawing vouchers receive a preference point for next year’s drawing.
The $101.51 annual small game license, $11 application fee, and $12.47 habitat stamp fee are non-refundable. You may surrender your license to CPW, but it must be done 30 days or more before opening day of the season for which your license is valid. If you return your permit, you may choose to have either the cost of your permit refunded or have your preference points restored. Returned licenses must be accompanied by a completed request form obtained at a CPW location or on the website. A $15 processing fee will be charged for returns, unless it is a youth license. Once there are less than 30 days until the season starts, refunds or preference point restoration is limited to medical circumstances, military service, or extreme extenuating circumstances. If you return a permit, you can choose to have your preference points reinstated to a pre-draw level or you can choose to receive a refund of the license in which your accumulated points will be forfeited.
Colorado has a reissue policy for limited licenses that were turned in after the draw. A license that is returned that took 5 or more preference points to draw will be manually reissued to the next eligible person. For each license returned, CPW will contact the next five people from the current year’s draw order and attempt to reissue it. If a non-resident returns a permit, it will be reallocated to a non-resident. Any licenses that took fewer than 5 preference points to draw that is returned will be placed into the leftover list. Colorado will issue any surrendered deer after the initial leftover license purchased deadline on August 5th in a reissue/leftover license webpage. They will release a list of available licenses each Tuesday and transfer them into the leftover list for purchase Wednesday at 11 a.m. (MT).
A limited license can be changed or exchanged from one season to another, provided the original quota was “floating” for the seasons involved. A general season bull elk license can be changed to any other season in which a general bull license is valid. A fee of no more than $5-$7.50 will be assessed to cover administrative costs.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife conducts big game harvest surveys each year by phone or email. Participation is not required unless you hunt bighorn sheep, moose, or mountain goat. All licenses for bighorn sheep, moose, and mountain goat must complete a questionnaire plus have their harvest inspected within five working days of harvest. A tooth will be extracted from harvested moose.
CPW requires mandatory submission of Chronic Wasting Disease test samples from some harvested bucks from select deer herds. Any notified hunter who harvests a deer in one of the identified units will be required to present their deer for testing at a CPW facility.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife offers a “Hunt Planner” service to anyone who is looking at hunting Colorado. You can contact a CPW hunt planner at 303-297-1192, and they will help you apply and map out your hunt. Colorado also has an online Hunting Atlas program that allows you to access information on big game concentrations, migration patterns, and topo maps.
Throughout much of Western Colorado, there are ample amounts of public land to hunt. The Eastern Plains portion of the state has very little public land. A GPS with a landownership layer is highly recommended if you are planning to hunt anywhere in Colorado.
CPW has a big game pilot program. This allows public access to some WIA properties for deer, elk, and antelope hunting. Specific information will be available in the WIA brochure that will be out in August.
Money from the sale of the habitat stamps is used to acquire and manage habitat for hunting, fishing, and wildlife viewing. Colorado Parks and Wildlife participates in the State Trust Lands Public Access Program. Not all state trust land is in this program. CPW has a brochure identifying properties open for wildlife recreation that will be out in August.
Colorado is currently at 973,000 acres and hoping to expand this program to over 1 million acres in the future. For a current map of acres enrolled in this program, go to https://ndismaps.nrel.colostate.edu/index.html?app=HuntingAtlas.
As expected, after the initial release of the first 10 wolves in December of 2023, there has not been protection for any livestock producers. Mitigation claims have exceeded $500,000, which the state is struggling to find funding to pay because the mitigation fund only has $350,000 in it. CPW has tried translocating some of the wolves, which has obviously been unsuccessful. Now CPW’s answer is that if they bring in more wolves (which was 15 additional wolves brought in from British Columbia) to bolster the packs, they will now have the ability to target more adult elk instead of calf elk. Anyone with a drop of brain at all has to be thinking that this is the dumbest idea that was ever dreamed up by a round table of “wildlife specialists” who have no idea or sense of reality. So far, every single rancher and person who voted against the wolf supplementation has been vindicated. The Shangri-La place that was promised by wolf lobbyists that was going to have wolves only eating out the sick and dying wildlife that “in turn would eliminate disease within the rivers” turns out to be what every sane person with a bit of common sense said it was going to be, BS!
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